Dark Promise (Between Worlds #1)
Page 19
“What are we going to tell people, Mom?” I thought about what Azura had said, but I couldn’t believe it was true. I was gone close to two weeks at least.
“Azura said we didn’t have to worry about that as long as you came back shortly. Apparently, time is different in their world. Your friends think you were sick.” She grabbed the phone and called Dad. “She’s home! Hurry back.” As soon as she hung up, her arms were around me again. It felt like she might never let go.
“How long have I been gone?” I asked, wanting to confirm what Azura had told me.
“Today is the fifth day.”
“It’s been almost two weeks for me.”
“Two weeks? My God.”
The time thing was really strange. The days did seem to blur together, and Kallan said they aged at a slower rate than humans. I made a mental note to ask Azura to explain it better. Like it or not, I was going to have to let her into my life so she could explain the faery world. I needed to find a way to get out of the agreement I made with Varwik. I also needed to understand the different types of power that I had the ability to tap into.
Ten minutes later, the door flew open, and my father rushed in. He looked horrible. His eyes were bloodshot and it looked like he’d just rolled out of bed. His hair was standing all over the place. Not the calm and collected father I knew and loved. “Oh, Rylie!” He gathered me in his strong arms. His body shook with sobs. “You’re okay, you’re really okay. I thought I’d lost you forever.”
“I missed you both so much. All I wanted to do was come home.” I didn’t have any more tears left in me. I just let him hold me.
We all sat on the couch. Mom sat on my left side stroking my hair, and Dad was on my right. I filled them in on what happened, skipping over some of the details.
As long as they didn’t ask, I wasn’t lying.
I heard Adam’s truck pull up before I saw it. I took a few seconds to make sure I was glamoured before I rushed out of the back door and onto the porch. He had already jumped out of his truck and for the first time in almost two weeks, I laid my eyes on him—the boy I was in love with. My heart leapt, and I ran down the steps of the porch and into his arms. He pulled me close to him, and I could smell the warm, comforting scent of his body.
He pulled away. Our gazes met, his own green eyes concerned. “Are you feeling better? Your mom said you’ve missed school because you were sick,” he said, caressing my face. “School’s been lame without you. It felt like it was never going to end. I tried to text you…why didn’t you text me back?”
“I was really taken by dark faeries, and we had no service.” Damn it! I forgot about the lying thing.
“Sure you were.” He laughed. “I’m just glad you’re feeling better.”
“Me, too.” Slowly, he leaned toward me and pressed his lips to mine. My eyelids fluttered closed and all my worries about the future faded away in his arms. I was finally home and with Adam.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you, too,” I told him before kissing him again.
As wonderful as the kiss was, I found myself thinking of Kallan and the way he had kissed me with such passion. The kisses Kallan and I had shared had been so different than the ones I shared with Adam. With Adam, it was familiar and safe, and with Kallan, it was unknown and exciting.
My heart was breaking in two. I felt stuck between two loves. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was falling in love with Kallan, but I also loved Adam. I knew who I would choose. I didn’t belong in this faery world. I belonged home—with Adam.
Epilogue
Kallan stood invisible in the forest behind Rylie’s house. He watched as her human boyfriend pulled up in his truck. He clenched his fists when she came running out of the house and into his arms with a passion he’d never seen. And then he watched as they kissed.
Jealousy coursed through his veins. He knew she loved this human boy. And even though she promised to return in a couple years, he wasn’t sure he could wait that long. He wanted her to love him. He needed to be near her. He had felt more alive in the short time they had been together than he had in his entire life.
“I will win her love,” he whispered to no one but himself.
Now Available!
Broken Promise
Over a year has passed since Rylie returned to her 'human' life. She now knows the truth about her past — and the destiny she can't yet accept. Rylie struggles to choose between two different worlds, each with a boy she loves. News that her father is alive complicates her life even more. Among the broken hearts and promises, a chance for a new beginning will emerge.
Available at Amazon
About the Authors
Julia Crane
Julia Crane is the author of the YA paranormal fiction novels: Keegan’s Chronicles, Mesmerized and Eternal Youth. Julia was greatly encouraged by her mother to read and use her imagination, and she’s believed in magical creatures since the day her grandmother first told her an Irish tale. Julia has traveled far and wide to all the places her grandmother told her about, gaining inspiration from her journeys to places like Nepal, Cyprus, Sri Lanka, Italy, France and many more. And who knows? Maybe the magical creatures she writes about are people she met along the way.
juliacraneauthor.com
Keep updated by joining her mailing list.
Talia Jager
When Talia isn’t hiding in the closet from her six children munching on a chocolate bar, she enjoys hiking the red rocks in Utah or sitting on the beach with a Kindle in her hands and her toes in the ocean.
Talia has written a number of books for young adults, including Damaged: Natalie’s Story, Teagan’s Story: Her Battle With Epilepsy, If I Die Young, Secret Bloodline, Lost and Found, and The Gifted Teens Series. Connect with Talia online at taliajager.com
Also by the Authors
Mesmerized
WARNING: This is a mature YA. Due to sexual content and some language it is not recommended for younger teens.
Seventeen-year-old succubus Lily Anderson can’t have a normal life: She isn’t allowed a boyfriend, she has no friends, and school is just one mess-up after another.
Lily’s parents send her away to the prestigious Emerson Academy. It doesn’t appear to be any different from the others. That is, until she meets her roommate, Hannah, and a blue-eyed boy named Jake.
Lily makes an almost deadly mistake, and Jake has a mysterious past that has come back to haunt him. Together, they must go on the run from things neither of them understand in order to save the people they love—and each other. But, Jake’s foe is more dangerous than they realized, and it will take the help of friends and family to save the man Lily loves.
She must learn to use her powers for good before it’s too late.
Available at Amazon
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Epilogue
Now Available!
About the Authors
Talia Jager
Also by the Authors
are this book with friends